What is Bybit Futures Grid Bot and how do I use it?

The Bybit Futures Grid Bot lets you automate grid trading strategies for eligible Tether (USDT) Perpetual futures contracts. You can execute buy and sell orders within a set price range without manual intervention. In this article, we cover how the tool functions, the setup modes available and the process for creating and managing a bot.

Key Takeaways:

• The Bybit Futures Grid Bot automates grid trading on eligible USDT Perpetual contracts.

• Choose Neutral, Long or Short, based on your market view, then use AI Strategy for suggested parameters or Manual mode for full control.

• Two key performance measures for the bot are Grid Profit and Total P&L: Grid Profit tracks completed grid trades, while Total P&L includes unrealized gains and losses. Positive Grid Profit doesn’t always mean positive overall P&L.

What is a Futures Grid Bot?

Grid trading works by placing buy and sell orders at regular intervals within a price range you configure in advance. In a typical mode for this strategy, as applied to derivatives, the price moves through the range and as it hits the specified levels, long orders fill on the way down and short orders fill on the way up. Every time the price reaches these grid levels, a completed trade is produced. The general idea is to open a long position at a lower price level and close it at the level immediately above, while also opening short positions at higher price levels and closing them as the price declines.

Using Bybit’s Futures Grid Bot, you set the price range and the interval spacing once, and the strategy completes the orders without further input. The bot can apply this method specifically to USDT Perpetual contracts, and it runs continuously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Because the bot operates around the clock, you don't need to watch price charts yourself or manually place new orders every time the market shifts direction. As long as the strategy stays active, the bot places and fills orders and adjusts target actions at each price level within your configured boundaries.

What assets does Bybit Futures Grid Bot support?

Eligible contracts include standard cryptocurrency pairs as well as selected stock-linked, ETF-linked and commodity-linked contracts. These choices give you a broader set of markets to apply grid strategies.

Regardless of which underlying asset you choose, the mechanics remain the same: you're always trading a USDT Perpetual contract that tracks the price exposure to that crypto or tokenized traditional asset. For more details on Perpetuals for traditional asset classes on Bybit, see TradFi Perpetual contracts.

What are the three Futures Grid Bot order directions?

The Bybit Futures Grid Bot offers three order direction modes: Neutral, Long and Short. Each one determines how the bot opens, manages and closes positions. For a breakdown of strategy and market suitability for each mode, refer to this relevant guide.

In Neutral mode, the bot starts with no initial position, then places long orders below the current market price and short orders above it.

Long mode opens and closes long positions exclusively, while Short mode opens and closes only short positions.

How to create a Futures Grid Bot on Bybit

AI Strategy vs. Manual mode

You can build a Futures Grid Bot using one of two strategy modes: AI Strategy or Manual. Under AI Strategy, the system sets your parameters automatically based on historical data, and you only need to choose the trading pair, direction and investment amount. Under Manual mode, you set every parameter yourself, including the price range, number of grids, grid type, leverage and investment amount, giving you full control over the bot's configuration.

The table below summarizes the key differences between the two strategy modes.

Steps to create your Futures Grid Bot

On the Bybit App, follow the steps below to create your bot: 

Step 1: Homescreen → More → Trading Bot → Futures Grid

Note: On the web version, the navigation path is Tools (in the top menu on the homepage) → Trading Bot → Futures Grid → Create

Step 2: Choose your strategy mode, either AI Strategy or Manual, then select an order direction: Long, Short or Neutral.

Note: If you choose Manual mode, you’ll need to specify the pair, direction, grid type (Arithmetic or Geometric), price range (or Smart Fill), number of grids (2 to 400), leverage (which varies by trading pair) and total investment.

Under AI Strategy, the system automatically suggests the range, grids, profit per grid and leverage. Under this mode, you only need to choose a trading pair, direction and investment amount.

If available, you can also draw on Bybit's Aurora AI Trading Bot for additional suggested configurations.

Note: Both AI Strategy and Manual modes offer optional Advanced Settings that cover Take Profit, Stop Loss, Entry Price, Trailing Stop, Trailing Up and Trailing Down.

You can run up to 50 bots simultaneously.

How to manage your Futures Grid Bot

Managing your Futures Grid Bot is straightforward once it's running. You can access bot details on the Trading Bots screen by tapping on View My Bots. Select the Futures Grid tab and tap on the specific bot you’d like to manage.

On the Details page for the bot, you can tap on Invest More in the lower left corner to add margin without touching any existing parameters. You can also tap on Withdraw next to it, and the interface will show the maximum amount you can withdraw, while your initial investment remains untouched. 

You can also modify certain settings on a live bot — including Take Profit, Stop Loss and Trailing Stop — without needing to stop it first. If you want to stop entirely, Terminate cancels all open orders, closes your positions at the market price and sends available funds directly to your Funding Account.

How are Futures Grid Bot profits calculated?

Four critical measures help you evaluate your bot’s performance: Grid Profit, Total P&L, Current P&L and Grid/Total APR.

1. Grid Profit equals completed grid pairs minus applicable derivatives trading fees. It reflects only the gains locked in when a buy-sell pair closes within the grid.

2. Total P&L combines realized and unrealized profits and losses. Thus, it captures the full picture and matters most when you close the bot.

3. Current P&L takes the Total P&L figure and subtracts any profits you've already withdrawn, giving you an updated snapshot at any point. 

4. Grid APR and Total APR annualize the APR rate of your Grid Profit and Total P&L, respectively, so that you can make comparisons across time frames. 

One critical factor to keep in mind is that Grid Profit can sit in positive territory while Total P&L may turn negative at the same time, since unrealized losses on open positions pull the overall number down. 

For the exact formulas of these measures, check our relevant Bybit Help Center article.

What are the risks of using a Futures Grid Bot?

Using the Futures Grid Bot involves certain risks to be aware of:

• Liquidation is a key risk, as with any derivatives trading. It’s triggered once your maintenance margin rate (MMR) reaches 100 percent or higher. If liquidation is triggered, your positions close automatically, regardless of your grid strategy's overall performance.

• Leverage can magnify both gains and losses, so a small adverse price move can erode your margin faster than expected at higher leverage ratios.

• If you run multiple grid bots, each one operates on its own allocated investment. Profits from one bot cannot offset losses from another, since the funds are separated at the bot level. This isolation limits the risk to each individual allocation, but it also means that a losing bot won't be rescued by a winning one.

• Grid bots profit from price oscillations within a range. When markets trend strongly in one direction for an extended period, that sustained movement can outpace whatever profits the grid accumulates from smaller back-and-forth swings.

The bottom line

Bybit's Futures Grid Bot automates grid execution across eligible USDT Perpetual contracts, completely removing the need for manual order placement. Setup lets you choose between AI Strategy and Manual modes, offering either automated parameter generation or hands-on control, based on your preferred settings. When you’re ready, visit Bybit’s Trading Bot page to start automating your Futures grid strategy.

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